The 15-year-long process of building digital financial infrastructure has reached a point where the country can start reaping its economic benefits.

The volume of branchless banking had accelerated with Easypaisa and JazzCash and now we have the Raast tool. By December 2025, the country had 48.3 million registered Raast person-to-person (P2P) IDs. Between October and December alone, the system processed 646m transactions worth Rs18.5 trillion. Some 2.1m merchants had also been registered for Raast person-to-merchant (P2M) payments. Across the financial system, 92 per cent of retail transactions are now conducted through digital channels.

For most Pakistanis, digitisation still means sending or receiving money, paying bills and scanning QR codes.

During the era of cash transactions, banks knew little about the turnover of a small retailer, making it difficult for him to secure credit without financial statements, collateral and documentation. Now if a retailer receives 500 Raast payments every month, his transaction history can show sales patterns, turnover and seasonal fluctuations. This data could help establish his creditworthiness.

92pc of retail transactions are conducted through digital channels

Instead of relying exclusively on property as collateral, banks and fintech companies could develop lending products based on verified cash flows. The same principle applies to freelancers and other small businesses whose economic activity is real but poorly documented.

Digital payments can also make saving and investing easier. Customers receiving salaries or business income could automatically transfer Rs500 a week into mutual funds, opt for gold, government securities or contribute to pension accounts.

Likewise, insurance offers similar package(s). Motorcycle riders could purchase daily accidental cover, retailers could insure their inventory, and freelancers could allocate a portion of their income towards health coverage. Small premiums of Rs20 or Rs50 could make protection accessible.

Commerce presents another opportunity. Raast P2M payments could provide merchants with a lower-cost alternative to card infrastructure. The government allocated Rs3.5 billion to subsidise Raast QR merchant transactions through June 2026. The ‘attractions’ of loyalty points, instant discounts and access to credit could help turn QR acceptance into habitual use.

Data may ultimately prove even more valuable. Banks, wallets and retailers hold different fragments of a customer’s financial life. With informed customer consent, appropriate privacy protections and interoperable data-sharing arrangements, this information could improve credit assessment.

Data may ultimately prove even more valuable. Banks, wallets and retailers hold different fragments of a customer’s financial life. With informed customer consent, appropriate privacy protections and interoperable data-sharing arrangements, this information could improve credit assessment. A person with regular monthly digital inflows could become eligible for formal credit. A retailer without audited accounts could show three years of business activity through merchant transactions.

Pakistan has rightly celebrated the opening of bank accounts when millions lacked access to formal finance. But an account containing Rs200 that is used twice a year is not meaningful financial inclusion. Progress should be measured by how many people save, borrow formally, obtain insurance, invest and secure working capital through their digital transaction histories.

Raast offers instant interoperable payments and currently charges customers nothing for P2P transfers. Mobile banking and wallets have achieved enormous scale. Digital onboarding is becoming easier. QR acceptance is spreading. The next challenge is no longer primarily technological.

Banks must stop treating Raast merely as another payment channel, while fintech companies need to look beyond building yet another wallet. The real opportunity is not simply moving Rs10,000 from one person to another. It is understanding what both parties need before and after that transaction.

Pakistan has built perhaps the most important tier of financial infrastructure since branchless banking. Now the crucial point is building financial services on top of it.

The author is the chairman of the Pakistan Fintech Network

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 26th, 2026